Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) (GS Paper 3, Infrastructure)
Why in news?
- Prime Minister recently inaugurated the first leg of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), India’s first mass rapid system dedicated to regional connectivity.
- Capable of running at speeds up to 180 km/hour, trains on the first section will eventually cut the journey time between Delhi and Meerut to less than an hour.
What is the RRTS project?
- The RRTS is an integrated, mass transit network which aims to ensure “balanced and sustainable urban development” through better connectivity and access across the NCR.
- RRTS is supposed to serve the region around Delhi and enhance inter-state connectivity.
- The idea of such a network lies in a study which the Indian Railways was commissioned to carry out in the year 1998-99. The study identified the possibility of an RRTS network to connect various locations in the NCR through fast commuter trains.
- The proposal was re-examined in the year 2006 with the extension of the Delhi Metro lines to some NCR towns such as Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad.
- It was soon taken up by the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) while developing its “Functional Plan on Transport for NCR-2032”.
- The NCRPB identified and recommended eight RRTS corridors to connect NCR towns with high speed rail-based commuter transit services.
Stakeholders:
- The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is a joint venture company of the Central government and the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, has constructed the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) also known as Namo Bharat.
- The body, under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, is mandated with implementing the RRTS project across the National Capital Region, which is spread across an estimated 55,000 square kilometres and is home to a population of over 46 crore with a combined GDP of an estimated $370 billion.
How is the RRTS different from existing metro or railways systems?
- When compared with metros, the RRTS network is faster. It will cater to commuters who want to travel relatively longer distances across the NCR in a short time.
- Compared with the Indian Railways, though the RRTS train will cover relatively smaller distances, it will do so at higher frequency and provide relatively more comfort than the average Railways coach.
- The RRTS is modelled on systems such as the RER in Paris, Regional-Express trains in Germany and Austria as well as the SEPTA Regional Rail in the United States, among others.
What is the objective behind the RRTS project?
- The RRTS seeks to “unlock the entire potential” of the NCR in various ways in addition to enhancing multi-modal connectivity at the existing transportation hubs within it.
- One of the most significant aims of the project is to nudge commuters towards public transportation and have a positive impact on relieving the congestion both on its road/highways as well as existing metro and railway networks.
- In terms of the economy, the project aims to give a push to employment generation and the opening up of newer commercial hubs along the current contours of the NCR.
- Shorter travel times are expected to increase the overall economic productivity of the region and allow more economic activity to spring up in and around suburban locations spread across the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.
How fast can RRTS trains travel?
- RRTS trains will travel significantly faster than metro trains. These will operate at a speed of 160 km/hour but are designed to be able to run at speeds up to 180 km/hour.
- Delhi Metro trains can operate at 100 km/hour to 120 km/hour, at the most, depending on the line.
- The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s fastest line, the Airport Express Line, for example, operates at a speed of 120 km/hour.
Which corridors are being developed under the RRTS project?
- Eight corridors will be developed under the project, of which three are being constructed under phase I: the 82-km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut, the 164-km Delhi-Gurugram-SNB-Alwar, and the 103-km Delhi-Panipat corridors.
- The corridors to be developed in future include Delhi – Faridabad – Ballabgarh – Palwal; Ghaziabad – Khurja; Delhi – Bahadurgarh – Rohtak; Ghaziabad-Hapur; and Delhi-Shahadra-Baraut.
- The RRTS station at Sarai Kale Khan in the heart of the capital will form the backbone of the entire project with all three corridors being constructed under phase I, connecting the city to U.P, Haryana and Rajasthan, converging at it.
Iron Beam, Israel’s 5th line of aerial defence
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
Why in news?
- Israel may now be considering fast-tracking the deployment of the Iron Beam missile defence system, developed by the Israeli company Rafael, to shore up its aerial defences.
- Once fully operational, the Iron Dome will become the fifth element of Israel’s integrated missile defence system, joining Arrow 2, Arrow 3, David’s Sling and the Iron Dome.
Iron Beam:
- Rafael’s 100-kilowatt Iron Beam is designed to neutralise rockets, artillery, and mortars (RAM), besides unmanned aerial systems (UAS), counter-unmanned aerial systems (C-UAS) and anti-tank missiles.
- It can function by itself or be integrated with other, broader defence systems.
- Iron Beam can “neutralise a wide range of threats with pinpoint accuracy and protect military forces and civilian populations”, as it is designed to ensure “limited collateral damage”.
Complementary to Iron Dome:
- An air defence system operational since 2011, the Iron Dome has shielded the Israeli population from rockets for more than a decade, even clocking a success rate of up to 90 percent.
- Iron Beam is not a replacement for the Iron Dome but complementary to it since there are few scenarios where the laser-based missile defence system may face operational challenges. For instance, during foggy weather or when it’s raining.
- In the ongoing conflict, Israel has relied on the Iron Dome to intercept the hundreds and sometimes thousands of missiles launched into Israeli territory by Hamas and Hezbollah.
- However, since the Iron Dome system requires interceptor missiles, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have reportedly begun testing for the Iron Beam system, which is a directed energy weapon (DEW) air defence system.
Key features of Iron Beam:
- The Iron Beam is “smaller and lighter than the Iron Dome, which makes it easier to move and to conceal”.
- Since the laser-based missile defence system does not require ammunition, fluctuations in the global supply chain would not be of concern.
- It is cost-effective, since it does not require missiles to counter hit the incoming object. This system also requires lower operational costs and limited manpower to operate it.
- Iron Beam uses a fibre laser to generate a laser beam to destroy an airborne target.
- Its battery is reportedly composed of an air defence radar, a command and control (C2) unit, and two High Energy Laser (HEL) systems.
- The two laser guns can produce 100-150 kw of power in a single second.
- Further, the system has a range of up to 7 km and is designed to destroy a target within four seconds of the twin high-energy fibre optic lasers making contact with it.
- The high-energy laser focuses a beam or several beams of energy to blind, cut or inflict heat damage on the target.
Way Forward:
- Unveiled at the Singapore Airshow by Rafael in February 2014, the Iron Beam was slated to become operational by 2025, but Israel is now reportedly expediting its deployment to make it operational much sooner.
US military report on China flags its aggression towards India
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Why in news?
- China’s aggressive tactics at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and its ramping up of nuclear stockpile along with massive scaling up of naval and missile technology has been flagged by the US in its latest military report.
- The report, ‘Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China’, said the Chinese had also deployed its special forces along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh.
Details:
- Talking about the India-China tensions, the US Department of Defense (DoD) has said negotiations between the two neighbours made “minimal progress as both sides resisted losing perceived advantages on the border”.
- In 2022, China continued to develop military infrastructure along the LAC. These improvements include underground storage facilities near Doklam, new roads in all three sectors of the LAC, new villages in disputed areas in neighboring Bhutan, a second bridge over Pangong Lake, a dual-purpose airport near the center sector, and multiple helipads.
Growing nuclear arsenal:
- The Beijing will probably have over 1,000 operational nuclear warheads by 2030.
- Many of these warheads will be deployed at higher readiness levels and will continue growing to 2035 in line with the goal of ensuring PLA modernisation is “basically complete” that year, serving as an important milestone in Xi’s goal of a “world class” military by 2049.
- China is expanding the number of land, sea, and air-based nuclear delivery platforms while investing in and constructing the infrastructure necessary to support further expansion of its nuclear forces.
- China characterises its view of strategic competition in terms of a rivalry among powerful nation states, as well as a clash of opposing ideological systems.
- The PRC’s national strategy is to achieve “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” by 2049.
Tech advances:
- The Beijing has made advancements in its defence industrial capabilities.
- China is the world’s top ship-producing nation by tonnage and is capable of producing a wide range of naval combatants, gas turbine and diesel engines, and shipboard weapons and electronic systems, which makes it nearly self-sufficient for all shipbuilding needs.
- China is developing beyond-visual-range air-to-air missiles and exploring missile capabilities that improve target-selection and make the missiles more resistant to countermeasures.
- In 2022, China launched its first domestically designed and manufactured aircraft carrier, featuring an electromagnetic catapult launch and arresting devices.
China-US Communication:
- In 2022, the PLA largely denied, cancelled, and ignored recurring bilateral engagements and US’ Department of Defense’s (DoD) requests for communication. The PLA’s refusal to engage with the DoD has largely continued in 2023.
- The PLA’s refusal to engage in military-to-military communications with the US, combined with its increasingly coercive and risky operational behaviour, “raises the risk of an operational incident or miscalculation spiraling into crisis or conflict”.
Belt and Road Initiative:
- China uses BRI to support its strategy of national rejuvenation by seeking to expand global transportation and trade linkages to support its development and deepen its economic integration with various nations.
- In 2022, BRI projects saw mixed economic outcomes, experiencing both growth and decline.
Russia-Ukraine:
- China almost certainly is learning lessons that are most applicable to its goal of strengthening its approach to countering a perceived US-led containment strategy.
- Western sanctions against Russia almost certainly have amplified PRC’s push for defence and technological self-sufficiency and financial resilience.
